A complaint against the state of Ohio was was filed last month over House Bill 49. Athens is the leading plaintiff in the suit. The city of Athens is the head plaintiff out of 137 Ohio municipalities in a lawsuit against the state over a bill that could lead to state control of local taxes. A provision of Gov. John …

Gov. John Kasich released his two-year budget proposal for Ohio on Monday, saying he hopes his final budget will help Ohio maintain economic growth in the face of national uncertainty. The new budget, which allocates more than $144 billion over two years, is slightly larger than the previous one. However, Kasich said in his press conference that some areas would …

Oct. 18 11:55 a.m.: This story has been updated to reflect additional comments from Sarah Grace concerning taxes filed for the PTO. Sarah Grace has pushed back against accusations that she did not file taxes for the East Athens Elementary Parent Teacher Organization during her time as treasurer from 2014-2016. Grace, who is the Democratic candidate for the 94th State …

The second debate of the general election was, in a single word, tense. In the past 48 hours, a 2005 video exposed Donald Trump as having made comments about women the Washington Post deemed “lewd”; WikiLeaks released emails that contain excerpts of Hillary Clinton’s Wall Street speeches Hillary Clinton; and Trump held a pre-debate press conference with three women who …

College students: have you heard Bernie Sanders promise for free tuition? No matter who you’re voting for, it’s time to hold our candidates accountable. The Scene for 2016’s Bianca Hillier tells you whether or not free tuition is actually in our future.

Republicans have been trying to backtrack on the Affordable Care Act since President Obama signed it into law in 2010; If the right side of the race wins the election this fall, they plan on doing just that. The Scene for 2016’s Bianca Hillier has the details. EDITOR’S NOTE: Video and page have been edited for grammatical mistakes.

Athens City Council finally resolved many of its standing issues during its meeting Monday, including the adoption of the new tax code and a new policy for unused vacation days for non-union employees. The new tax code, which was criticized by the council when it was first proposed, was passed unanimously even after Mayor Paul Wiehl noted that it would …

Tensions rose at Athens City Council on Monday as council members and other city officials debated changing the vacation accrual process for city employees. As it currently stands, city employees who have accumulated more than three years’ worth of vacation days may lose their extra time next year if a new proposed policy in enacted. The issue has come up …

This past week the U.S. House of Representatives voted to defund Planned Parenthood. That is a win for anti-abortion groups, right? Not really. What people do not seem to understand in 2015 is Planned Parenthood does more clinical medical work than it does abortions. The most recent statistics recorded show that the organization’s work is mostly attributed to STD screenings …

Craft beer has been on the rise everywhere including in Ohio, home of Great Lakes Brewing Co. However, this latest fad is pricey for most consumers due to high taxes on alcohol. Luckily for beer drinkers, there is a new bipartisan movement that could allow for tax cuts on craft beer. The Small BREW Act is being pushed heavily by …

Gov. John Kasich drew a crowd of around 1,100 in Wilmington, Ohio — a town hit particularly hard during the recession — for his State of the State address, which covered key points in his 2016-2017 budget proposal. Kasich stressed the need for an attractive state that would bring new business and build a brighter future for the younger generation …

Some taxpayers may have to take a quiz to prove their identity to receive a tax return as part of a new screening system implemented by The Ohio Department of Taxation. The four-question multiple choice quiz is the most noticeable of the changes made to cut down on tax return fraud and identity theft, according to Ohio Department of Taxation …

Tobacco users may have to fork over more money next year if Gov. John Kasich’s 2016-2017 budget proposal — including a tax increase on cigarettes and related products — is accepted. The proposal, which was released in January, suggests a $1 increase for the cigarette tax, bringing the total tax for a 20 pack to $2.25. Other tobacco products, such …

City Council met on Monday night to discuss the first draft of the upcoming year’s budget in line with the current 2013 budget. The possible new budget estimates the city’s available funds to be around $34 million, which is very similar to the 2013 budget. The budget in 2011 was around $30 million. The increase is due to extra grants …

Many argue that public worker unions reap too many benefits. However, the Athens city council may have just addressed an issue of non-union public workers earning the better end of the stick. The city has decided to end an inconsistency between its payment of compensation to union city workers and non-union city workers. Thus far, non-union city workers have been …

The sales tax increase component of House Bill 59, a controversial piece of legislation signed into law by Gov. John Kasich in June, officially came into effect in Ohio on September 1st. The recent tax augmentation has seen all Ohio consumers paying the newly established rate of 5.75 percent, up a quarter percent from the previous rate of 5.5 percent. …

Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s new budget includes some potentially big changes for homeowners, and Democrats in the state legislature aren’t too happy. The state has canceled the 12.5 percent property tax rollback that has been in place for 40 years. This could be bad news for school districts that are trying to drum up support for tax levies that will …

An enourmous sum of $100 billion, including large tax cuts and plans for education reform, also known as Gov. John Kasich’s 2014-2015 budget, has prompted a large-scale debate about the future of Ohio’s economy. In addition to the proposals, Kasich also has The Budget of Stabilization Fund, known as the “Rainy Day Fund.” This fund currently holds $482 million and …

Incoming freshmen at Ohio University are required to complete an online alcohol education program that could be improved by including less extreme examples of the dangers posed by drinking, a program director said.
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President Nellis shares his vision for OU in his address at the 2019 Faculty and Staff Convocation. “We will become the most dynamic, responsive, leading-edge public higher institution, and in doing so, reclaim our legacy of being fearlessly first.” @TheNewPolitical

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The New Political is an award-winning, independent publication run entirely by Ohio University students. A digital-first outlet, it is solely dedicated to covering politics and government on campus, in the city of Athens and in the state of Ohio. The New Political seeks to educate and empower the public as an independent voice for Athens.